Automobile parking tower



Aug. 3, 1937. 1 ZRNA AUTOMOBILE PARKING'TOWER Filed May 4, 1935 4Sheets-Sheet 1 rwezzor Weil.

Aug. 3, 1937. v J. 2RM 2,089,041

AUTOMOBILE PARKING TOWER Filed May 4, 1935 4 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 nvezzfor.'

Aug. 3, 1937. J. ZRNA 2,089,041

AUTOMOBILE PARKING TOWER' Filed May 4, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 v enfer.-

L/BHN Z RM@ l Aug. 3, 1937. J. zRNA AUTOMOBILE PARKINGA TOWER Filed May4, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 noel-Joh.' J/m/ZRNA Patented Aug. 3, `193']UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE AUToMomLE mimmo 'rowlm l John Zrna, Chicago,lll.

Application May 4, 1933, serm'No. 669,389

' 15 claims. (ci. als-16.1)

This invention relates generally to automobile parking towers and hasparticular reference to new and useful improvements in conveyors andespecially elevators having a plurality of movable cages, platforms orsupports on which automobiles, or other articles may be stored orconveyed from one point to another.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an elevator having aplurality of supports or platforms arranged for simultaneous movement ina pair of oppositely movable columns. The movement in said collunnsbeing with a predetermined or constant velocity; said platforms beingmovable from one column to the other with accelerated speed or velocityattained through mechanical instrumentalities.

Another object of my invention is found in the provision of structuralor stationary cam means cooperating with movable means associated withthe platform-moving means to erect a predetermined acceleration anddeceleration of the cages in their movement from one column to theother. Such structural or stationary cam means may be designed to movesaid platforms from one co1- umn to the other with a variable.uniformly, or progressively accelerated and decelerated speed, or themovement of the platforms in such transferring operationmay beaccelerated to a maximum speed and then maintained at such maximum speedfor a period of time and then decelerated to the speed of the platformsin the columns.

Still another object of my invention resides in the provision ofintermediate means interposed between the cages and the drive chains ordriving means which cooperate with fixed or stationary means so that thepath of movement o'i said intermediate means will be guided andcontrolled to eect a variation in the speed or velocity of the cages intheir transfer movement from one column to another, as for instance, thecages or platforms may be accelerated to a predetermined lmaximum. speedand then decelerated to the speed of the cages in the columns.

A further object of the invention is to provide means intermediate theplatforms and their propelling chains which intermediate means arepivotally connected to the propelling chains and disposed for movementin a plane different from the plane oi' movement of said chains.

A still further object of the invention is found in the novelconstruction and arrangement of such intermediate means each of whichconsists of a member plvotally connected to the propelling chain and tothe cages; the pivotal connection to the propelling member beingintermediate the free ends of such member and the pivotal connection tothe cage being oil'set to the chain pivotal connection; and the freeends of said member having rollers thereon which are adapted to engagedeflecting cams to thereby control the speed or movement of the cagesfrom one path to the other.

With the above and other objects in lview, my invention consists in thenovel combination, construction and arrangement of the parts and membersshown in preferred embodiment in the attached drawings, described in thefollowing speciilcations and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the attached illustrations:

Figure l is a vertical section through a building or structure embodyingmy invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2 2 of Figure 3:

Figure 3 is a vertical of Figure 2;

Figure. 4 is a crosssection taken on llne G t of Figure 2, showing theconnection of the intermediate member to the cage and propelling chain;

Figure 5 is a cross-section taken on line tof Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a cross-section taken on line 5 6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is an enlarged end elevation of the inn termediate member; and

Figure 8 is an end view in reduced scale of a modified construction oithe intermediate member. f

Referring now to the drawings, i@ indicates a structure which includesmy improved elevator or conveyor which is generally indicated by numeralI2.

In the illustrations, the invention is applied to an elevator which isdisposed vertically and consists of a pair or two sets oi continuouslink chains. a plurality of cages or platforms adapted to supportautomobiles and intermediate means for operatively connecting the cagesor platforms to the propelling chains.

The cages move in a circuitous path which, in the present instance, maybe considered as a pair of vertical columnsinterconnected at their upperand lower ends to permit the movement or transfer of the cages orplatforms at such ends from one column to the other. and the movement ofthe cages is reversible so that a selected cage may section taken online 3 3 be caused to move to a loading or unloading sta- 55 tionthrough the shortest route.

mechanism may be provided for automatically, semi-automatically ormanually controlling the movement of the cages, but since such controlsare not a part of the present invention, they 'are not illustrated inthe drawings.4 v

The cage-propelling link chains I3 consist preferably ofpivotally-interconnected links I3^ and rollers I3B to facilitate themovement of such chains in the channel chain guides I4. Each set of suchchains I3 is continuously embraced or guided in the vertical colunmmovements and in the transfer movements at the ends by a pair ofcontinuous channel members I4.

It will be observed in Figures 1, 2 and 3, that the upper and lower endsof such chain guides I4 are curved, and that the curved ends and the twopropelling chains are offset one to the other in the vertical plane.

The propelling flexible means or chains I3 are, in the present instance,provided with a driving mechanism which is operatively connected to suchchains at their lower portions, and consists of a motor I5, the shaft ofwhich is coupled with a speed reducer I6 having a drive pinion I1 inmesh'with a gear I8 which is fixed to shaft I9.

The shaft I9 is supported in suitable bearings 20 and at each endcarries a bevel gear 2| which is fixed thereto.

The lowermost chain I3 is driven by a sprocket 22 which is fixed toshaft 23 supported in suitable bearings, as for instance, 24 and at oneend of shaft 23 is a bevel gear 25 which is fixed thereto.

The gears 2| and 25 are operatively interconnected by a shaft 26supported in bearings 21 and having fixed thereto a bevel gear 28 whichmeshes with gear 25, and a gear 29 which meshes with gear 2I.

The other chain I3 is driven by a sprocket 30 which is fixed to shaft 3|supported in suitable bearings, as for instance, 32 and at one end ofshaft 3l is a bevel gear 33 which is fixed thereto.

The bevel gear 33 and the bevel gear 2l are operatively interconrectedby a shaft 34 supported in suitable bearings 35 and having fixed theretoa bevel gear 36 which meshes with bevel gear 33, and a bevel gear 31which meshes with bevel gear 2 I.

It will now be readily apparent that the operation of the motor I5 will,through its interconnected transmission mechanism hereinabove described,cause a rotation of the drive sprockets 22 and 30 to thereby propel thechains I3. Obviously, a ,reversible electric motor I5 may be providedich selectively reversing the movement of chains I3 in their travelwithin the guides I4.

The cages 38 in the design shown embody a p platform 33A havingchanneled runways 38B to guide a motor-vehicle thereon. The platform 38Ais provided at one end with a channel iron frame 38C and at the otherend with a reinforcing, cross-channel 38D. Suitable gusset plates 38Eare provided at the connection of the frame 33B to the platform 38A'.Likewise brace members 38F are provided between the platform 38A and apair of depending angularly disposed supports 3BG. A similar pair ofangularly disposed supports 38H is arranged to extend upwardly from theframe 38C.

The cages 38 are pivotally connected and supported at both ends thereofthrough intermediate means, generally indicated by numeral 40, to thedriving or propelling chains I3.

The angularly disposed depending supports 9,089,047 Various types ofcontrol for the operating 33. and the upwardly extending angularlydisposed supports IIH, are each arranged for common pivotal connectionwith a pin 4I!A which is securely held in an extended portion 4I)13 of apivotal member 40. The intermediate member 40 also includes a companionpivotal member 40D of equal length.

The pivotal members 400 and 40D are interconnected at their ends withpins 40E, each having a roller 401' mounted thereon.

The pivotal member 40D is provided with an extended pin 40G reinforcedwith a pair of longitudinally extending rib portions 40H.

The pin 40G forms a pivotal support for one of the rollers |313 of thepropelling chain I3. so that the intermediate member 40 is pivotallyconnected relatively to and with the propelling chain I3. l

The pivotal pins 40A and 4IlG are centrally disposed relatively to themembers 49 and 40D and are offset and not aligned with one anotherlongitudinally of the members 40C and 40D.

In the design of elevators of the type shown herein, it is verydesirable to mount the cages or platforms 38 as close together aspossible and yet permit the transfer movement of the cages or platformsfrom one vertical column to the other without interference of the cagebeing transferred with either of the adjacent cages and therefore one ofthe important objects or features of this invention is found in theprovision of the intermediate means 40 which are interposed between thecages or platforms 33 and the chains I3 which impart movement to thecages, and which intermediate means 49 cooperating with cams 39 permitsuch close mounting of the cal runs substantially parallelly with thechain guides I4.

In order to vary the speed and control the movement of the cages 33 inand during their transfer from one vertical column to the other,simultaneously with the movement of the cages in such vertical columns,the upper and lower portions 39A of the channels 39 are designed tofunction as cams for the intermediate means rollers 4BP to thereby causepivotal movement of such intermediate means about the pins 40G wherebythe speed and movement of the cages or platforms 38 will be varied andcontrolled. I

Such load supporting cams 39A may, obviously, be so designed or arrangedor spaced to extend into suitable planes to so guide the rollers 4IIF toproduce various predetermined speeds or movements of the cages duringtheirtransfer, and I, therefore, do not wish to be understood aslimiting myself to the particular form or arrangement of such cams 39Ashown for purposes of illustration in the attached drawings.

In the modification shown in Figure 8, the inl 1, A conveyor comprisinga plurality of plat- 75 forms simultaneously movable in oppositedirections in two interconnected paths, means for moving said platforms,intermediate means interposed between said platforms and saidplatformmoving means, said intermediate means being movableindependently of saidplatform-moving means and being disposed formovement in a plane diilerent from the plane of movement of saidplatform-moving means, and means for controlling the movement of saidintermediate means whereby said platforms will be moved from one path tothe other path with a variable speed. l

2. A conveyor comprising a plurality oi platforms simultaneously movablein opposite directions in two interconnected paths,'means for movingsaid platforms, intermediatemeans interposed between said platforms andsaid platformmoving means, said intermediate means being movableindependently of said platform-moving means and being disposed formovement in a plane different from the plane of movement of saidplatform-moving means, and means for controlling the movement of saidintermediate means whereby said platforms will be moved from one path tothe other path with an accelerated and then 'decelerated velocity.

3. A conveyor comprising a plurality of platforms simultaneously movablein opposite directions in two interconnected paths, means for movingsaid platforms, intermediate means interposed between said platforms andsaid platformmoving means, said intermediate means being movableindependently of said platform-moving means and being disposed formovement in a plane different from the plane of movement of saidplatform-moving means, and cam-like guiding means for controlling themovement of said intermediate means whereby said platforms will be movedfrom one path to the other path with a velocity accelerated to apredetermined speed which is maintained for a period of time and thendecelerated to the speed of the platforms in said paths.

4. A conveyor comprising a plurality of supports simultaneously movablein opposite directions in a pair of vertically disposed columns,flexible means for moving said supports, powerdriven means forpropelling said flexible means, intermediate means interposed betweensaid supports and said iiexible means and pivotaliy connected to saidsupports and to said flexible means, and means cooperating with saidintermediate means -for causing said supports to move with anaccelerated and decelerated velocity during their transfer movement fromone column to the other column, said intermediate means being movable ina plane diierent from the plane of movement of said flexible means.

5. A conveyor as embodied in claim 4, wherein said means cooperatingwith said intermediate means comprises stationary means adapted to causea movement of said intermediate means relatively to said supports duringthe transfer of said supports from one column to the other.

6. A conveyor comprising a plurality of supports arranged forsimultaneous movement in a circuitous path, means for moving saidsupports, means including power-driven means for propelling saidsupport-moving means, intermediate means having a single pivotalconnection with,

said supports and with said support-moving means, and means adapted tobe engaged by said intermediate means at a predetermined location in acircuitous path whereby the velocity of said supports will be increasedand decreased during the movement of said supports in a predeter-` minedlocation in the path of movement of said supports.`

7. A conveyor as embodied in claim 6, wherein said pivotal connectionsof said intermediate means are offset transversely to the longitudinalaxis of said intermediate means.

8. A motor-vehicle parking tower comprising a pair of endless chains,motor-driven means for propelling said chains, guiding means for saidchains, a plurality of cages each adapted to support a motor-vehicle,said cages being movable in opposite directions in a pair of columns andfrom one column to the other, a plurality of movable instrumentalities,each oi said instrumentalities having a pivotal connection with one ofsaid chains and a separate pivotal connection with one of said cages,and guiding means for said instrumentalities independent of saidchain-guiding means, said guiding means for said instrumentalities beingarranged to causev a movement of said cages from one column to the otherwith a velocity different from the velocity of the cages in said columnsby controlling and changing the path movement of said instrumentalities.

9. A conveyor comprising a plurality of supports arranged for movementin a circuitous elongated path, means for moving said supports,intermediate means having a single pivotal connection with saidlsupports and with saidsupport-moving means, guiding means for saidsupport-moving means, and separate cam-like guiding means for saidintermediate means for controlling the movement of said intermediatemeans whereby the speed of said supports is increased and decreased intheir movement between their positions in the extreme ends of theelongated circuitous path.

10. A conveyor as embodied in claim 9, and including said separateguiding means for said intermediate means comprising stationary extendedcam-like structures engaged by said intermediate means and adapted togradually tilt said in. termediate relatively to said support-movingmeans to thereby cause the variations in the speeds of said supports.

11. A conveyor as embodied in claim 9, and including said separateguiding means for said intermediate means comprising stationary extendedcam-like structures engaged by said intermediate means and adapted togradually tilt said intermediate relatively to said support-moving meansto thereby 'cause the variations in the speeds-of said supports, saidstationary cam-like structures being so arranged that in each half ofsaid circuitous elongated path, the distance oi said structures fromsaid platform-moving means will be gradually increased to a maximum andthen gradually decreased to the minimum.

12. A conveyor comprising a plurality of supports movable in acircuitous path, means for moving said supports comprising a pair ofspaced endless chains having opposite portions moving in oppositedirections in xed parallel paths, means for guiding said support-movingmeans in a fixed path, intermediate means comprising members pivotallymounted to said support-moving means, rollers at the ends of saidmembers, extensions from said members disposed intermediate the ends ofsaid members, each of said extensions being pivotally connected to oneof said supports, said intermediate meansbeing movable relatively'tosaid supports and `to said-supportmoving means, and means cooperatingwith said intermediate means for causing the relative movement of saidintermediate means in predetermined portions of said path includingguides for guiding said rollers.

13. In a conveyor including a plurality of supports movable in acircuitous path, means for the movement of said platforms relatively( tothe movement of said platform-moving means.

14. The combination in a conveyor as embodied in claim 13, and includingrollers on the ends of said extensions which rollers engage saidseparate guiding means, and wherein said rollers are disposed on astraight line intersecting the connection of said intermediate meanswith said platform-moving means, and wherein the connections for saidintermediate means with said platforms are oiset relatively to saidconnections for said intermediate means with said platformmoving means.

15. A conveyor comprising a plurality of supports movable in acircuitous path, means for moving said supports including a pair ofspaced endless chains having opposite portions moving in oppositedirections in fixed parallel paths, means for guiding said chains in axed path, intermediate means comprising members pivotally mounted tosaid chains, rollers at the ends of said members, extensions from saidmembers disposed intermediate the ends of said members, each of saidextensions being pivotally connected to one of said supports, saidintermediate means being movable relatively to said supports and to saidchains, and stationary means cooperating with said intermediate meansfor causing the relative movement of said intermediate means inpredetermined portions of said path comprising continuous guides forguiding said rollers.

JOHN ZRNA.

